112175: Ruling on working as an accountant in companies, institutions and factories

What is the Islamic ruling on working as a legal accountant? Please give a detailed answer.

Published Date: 2008-03-26

Praise be to Allaah.

The job of legal accountant
is not free of some things that go against sharee’ah, for example:

1.

Cooperating in sin and
transgression. That includes writing accounts for companies, factories and
institutions that buy, sell and manufacture things that Allaah has
forbidden, such as makers of alcohol and tobacco, and tourist hotels which
approve of and encourage immoral actions.

Allaah says (interpretation
of the meaning):

“Help you
one another in Al‑Birr and At‑Taqwa (virtue, righteousness and piety); but
do not help one another in sin and transgression”

[al-Maa’idah
5:2]

2.

Recording and documenting
riba. There is hardly any company or institution that does not have
riba-based loans in its accounts, or riba-based accounts in the bank. The
job of the accountant has to do with recording and watching these accounts.
The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
cursed the one who consumes riba and the one who pays it, the one who writes
it down and the two who witness it, and he said: they are all the same.
Narrated by Muslim (1598).

The fatwas of the scholars
mention one or both of these issues when giving the ruling on the job of
accountant, unless the work is free of anything that goes against sharee’ah,
in which case it is permissible.

There follow a number of
fatwas from the scholars giving the ruling on this job.

(i)

The scholars of the
Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas were asked:

In the office of a legal
accountant, we check the financial statements of institutions and companies,
based on the company’s books, with the aim of submitting the results at the
end of the financial year in the form of budgets and reports about the
company’s financial situation, to be presented through the institution to a
government department or bank, or to the zakaah and income departments.
During the year we also keep watch on the finances of the institution to
guard against tampering and embezzlement. I have a number of questions which
I hope that you can answer:

(a)

In some cases, I may see
details of their accounts and dealings with the banks. These accounts show
debt i.e., the companies are required to produce them in order to get a loan
from this bank or as the result of withdrawing more than they have in their
account, which results in the bank charging interest for that, i.e. riba.
The nature of our work involves showing this account with the others in the
budget. That is based on the company’s books and bank accounts, and we
cannot exclude it from the rest of the accounts. It has to be shown in order
for the budget to be regarded as showing the real situation of the company.
Is there any sin on us in that, and are we regarded as those who witness
riba?

(b)

What is the ruling on
preparing these budgets for these companies, as the office knows that they
are going to be submitted to the bank in order to get a loan, but the office
submits them to the company and the owner of the company submits them to the
bank?

(c)

We did a study for a
company based on a request from an organization that deals with commercial
disputes, on the dealings of the company with the bank. This is based on
bank statements submitted by the bank to the company. We showed the assets
of the company without commission and their assets with commission. It was
presented to the company so that they could submit it to the organization.
Praise be to Allaah, the company was given only a little of that interest.
Is it permissible to do such studies for our office? Please note that we
have done two studies like this.

They replied:

It is not permissible for
you to be an accountant because of what you have mentioned in your question,
because that involves cooperating in sin and transgression. End quote.

I work for a man who deals
in poultry feed, but he borrows money from the bank in order to do business,
in return for interest that is agreed upon, and I work as an accountant. As
part of my work I record the transactions with the bank and the bank
interest that we have to pay according to the contract. What is the Islamic
ruling on my work?

They replied:

This work is not
permissible for you, because it involves cooperating in sin and
transgression, and the one who works in that field is included in the
hadeeth of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him), who cursed the one who consumes riba and the one who pays it, the
one who writes it down and the two who witness it. Narrated by Muslim in his
Saheeh. End quote.

I am an accountant in a
commercial company, and this company is compelled to take riba-based loans
from the bank. I get a copy of the loan contract to prove what the company
owes. Am I regarded as a sinner just because I keep a record of the contract
without being involved in it.

They replied:

It is not permissible to
cooperate with the company mentioned in riba-based transactions, because the
Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) cursed the one
who consumes riba and the one who pays it, the one who writes it down and
the two who witness it, and he said: they are all the same. Narrated by
Muslim, and because of the general meaning of the words of Allaah
(interpretation of the meaning):

“but do not help one another in sin and transgression”

[al-Maa’idah 5:2]. End quote.

Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn Baaz
(19/190).

See also the fatwa of Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih
al-‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) concerning this job, in the
answer to question no. 11315.